


Saving What We Love

by lannisterslioness



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey & Poe finally meet!, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannisterslioness/pseuds/lannisterslioness
Summary: Continuing the little moment where Poe & Rey finally meet in TLJ and Poe may or may not finally get to at least sit in the pilot seat of the Falcon.





	Saving What We Love

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: My first Post-TLJ fic for Damerey is finally complete! I'm excited about what Episode 9 may give us, JJ don't let me down now! Also, this fic is an early birthday gift for @tulleofdecember20th over on tumblr, her birthday is coming up on the 20th and you guys should go give this fellow Damerey shipper some awesome birthday wishes ;)

    The Resistance wasn’t much anymore, barely enough people to fill up the Millennium Falcon and narrowly escape the certain death that awaited them during their last stand on Crait. The loss was always something Poe had trouble dealing with, and though he knew the moment he joined the Resistance that he’d be surrounded by it, he never imagined them being engulfed in it like this. But he still smiled despite all of it, part of him still smiling for the sake of those around him who had lost so much in the past few days, the other part, well, that part of him still held onto the small sliver of hope he desperately needed to believe in. They were on their own, at least for now, with nowhere to go other than the infamous freighter they were now aboard until they could find a suitable new base. In all the commotion, he’d almost forgotten that he should finally introduce himself to the woman who saved them all from certain death. 

 

    He wasn’t surprised to see BB-8 at her side, his little droid hadn’t stopped talking about Rey since the moment they were reunited, the droids little circuits nearly overloading with all the wonderful stories he told of Rey and Finn protecting him and getting him back home. He’d only briefly seen Rey at the D’Qar base before she was sent off on her mission to retrieve Luke, but he never got the chance to thank her for BB-8, now it seemed he had more to thank her for. 

 

    He walked up to her and the moment she looked at him, he felt nervous. It was something like the first time he met Leia Organa in person when he was stunned and taken aback that he was lucky enough to be in her presence. Rey was a hero so many times over now, doing these impossible feets and saving the Resistance time and time again, she was kind and strong, especially strong with the Force which he had to admit was an amazing sight to see firsthand. 

 

    “Hi,” Poe managed to finally speak, her eyes meeting his while she got to her feet. 

 

    “Hi,” She replied. 

 

    “I’m Poe,” He introduced himself. 

 

    She looked down for a brief moment before looking up again as she spoke, “Rey.” 

 

    “I know,” Poe said with a nod and a smile he couldn’t quite wipe off of his face. 

 

    She lit up with a grin that was contagious, it was hard to look away from or break the small moment between them. For a moment, it felt like the noise around them died down to silence, like the galaxy was waiting with bated breath for something else to happen between them. 

 

    “Thank you,” Poe said, breaking the silence. 

 

    “For what?” Rey asked curiously, her features scrunching up in confusion. 

 

_ For what? _ He felt like asking, she’d only saved them all. “For a lot of things, really,” Poe said, “For saving Beebee-Ate, for saving all of us. If you hadn’t come for us, I don’t know what would have happened back there.” 

 

    Deep down, Poe knew what would have happened, they would have died, and the hope for the galaxy with them. How could they ever repay her for all she’s done? How could he ever repay her for saving his only friend in the galaxy and bringing him new ones along the way? 

 

    “Oh,” Rey said, looking away again with a slight pink coming to her cheeks, “it’s no problem, really.” 

 

    “We wouldn’t be here without you,” Poe said, trying to catch her eye and let her know his sincerity. 

 

    Her hazel eyes met his again and her smile returned. He felt happy for the first time in a while talking to her, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. 

 

    “Are you alright?” Poe asked, she looked at him confused for a brief moment, “I mean, you went through a lot, probably haven’t had a second to think over the past few days, and you’re hurt,” He pointed to the mark on her shoulder, though he could sense that there was a deeper pain. 

 

    “Oh, it’s nothing, I’m fine,” She quickly said, covering up her shoulder, “I’ll be okay.” 

 

    “I know we just met and everything but...if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here,” Poe offered up, “it’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for us.” 

 

    BB-8 chimed in now with a beep of his own, causing them both to laugh.

 

    “And Beebee-Ate too,” Poe made sure to add. 

 

    Leia clearing her throat was enough to break their moment together, leaving Poe wondering how long the General had been standing there and listening and how he didn’t notice her by his side. 

 

    “ _ Commander _ , do you think I could borrow Rey for a minute?” Leia asked, using his old title once again. 

 

    “Of course, General,” Poe gave her a nod, “I’ll go check on how everyone else is doing. It was nice to meet you, Rey.” 

 

    “Nice to meet you too, Poe.” Rey grinned. 

 

    Even as he walked away, that smile of hers stayed on his mind, and even when he should have been paying attention to other matters now on the ship, he found himself looking over at  _ her _ . 

  
  


* * *

  
  


    Rey was talking to Leia or trying to at least, she found it hard to focus after everything that had happened. She had so much to tell Leia, about Luke, about Ben but found it hard to find a good place, to begin with all of that. Instead, her brain wandered onto other thoughts, she wondered who the girl was that Finn seemed so intent on taking care of, she wondered where the Resistance would go from here, but perhaps the most nagging thought she now faced was simply the thought of Poe Dameron. He wasn’t what she expected in the least; sure, BB-8 had told her stories of him on Jakku without really saying his name, saying he was the best pilot in the galaxy and the kindest master that any droid could hope to have, but she figured them to be musings of an unshakeable loyal droid or that his master was someone cockier or older or just not the Poe Dameron she’d actually met. 

 

    There was just something about him that she felt through the Force, some kindness that was relentless, some warmth that was reaching out towards everyone around him, something peaceful that drew her to him now with her mind a mess. But despite the peace he seemed to offer, it wasn’t something Rey could focus on at the moment, there were too many other things on her mind. After her talk with Leia and the broken lightsaber safely tucked away, Rey thought some flying with Chewie might help clear her head. 

 

    Instead, she ended up walking right into part of her problem. Poe Dameron was standing outside of the cockpit, Chewie inside and carefully trying to pilot the ship while swatting the new porg residents of the Falcon off of the control panel. 

 

    “Hey,” Rey said, pulling away from Poe and trying not to blush at her own embarrassment. 

 

   “Hey,” Poe said, seemingly unfazed by her clumsiness, “funny running into you here.” 

 

    “Sorry,” Rey sighed, “I-” 

 

    “Hey, I was kidding,” Poe assured her with a smile, “don’t worry about it.” 

 

    Rey gave a slight nod and let the silence settle between them, almost curious to see if the slight warmth she felt earlier from him was still there, and relieved knowing it was. “What are you doing up here?” 

 

    “Honestly, I’ve been dreaming about the Falcon since I was a little kid, I never thought I’d get to see it in person much less fly in it,” Poe said, his eyes scanning the room around her with a sense of wonder that Rey couldn’t even begin to put into words, but could very much feel through the Force, “I kind of tried to go in there but Chewbacca didn’t appreciate it much.” 

 

    “Chewie doesn’t like new people in the cockpit much,” Rey said, “come on, I’ll have him let you in.” 

 

    “You don’t have to-” 

 

    “Chewie,” Rey called out to the Wookie, walking into the cockpit with a slightly nervous Poe behind her, “Poe can come in here, he’s a pilot.” 

 

    The groans and grumbles that might have sounded like nonsense to most made perfect sense to Rey while she listened to Chewie’s reasoning. 

 

    “He’s one of the best pilots in the Resistance, he’s not going to mess anything up,” Rey said. 

 

    “I won’t touch anything, I swear,” Poe chimed in. 

 

    A few more reluctant grumbles came from Chewie. 

 

    “It’ll be fine Chewie,” Rey assured the Wookie one last time before turning to face Poe, “you can come in, he’s fine.” 

 

    Chewie complained some more but eventually subsided, keeping his eyes on the control panel in front of him. 

 

    Rey watched as he walked into the room, slowly and cautiously, almost afraid to disturb the very air in the room the wrong way. 

 

    “You want to sit in the pilot seat?” Rey asked. 

 

    This caused both Poe and Chewie to look at her now, Chewbacca on the verge of protest from what Rey could sense. 

 

    “It’d be an honor,” Poe said, “but I don’t want to impose.” 

 

    “You’re the best pilot in the Resistance, aren’t you?” Rey asked with a slight grin, “I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.” 

 

    “If it’s alright with you, Chewie,” Poe said now, leaning over to catch a glimpse of the Wookie. 

 

    Rey couldn’t help but grin slightly now, sensing Poe’s kindness through every word he spoke. 

 

    Chewbacca grumbled and groaned, and from the look on Poe’s face, she knew he couldn’t understand a thing that he said. 

 

    “Chewie said that since you asked it’s okay,” Rey clarified for him. 

 

    Chewbacca interjected with more that made Poe stop in his tracks. 

 

    “He also said that it’s a one-time thing,” Rey said. 

 

    “Completely understandable, thank you Chewbacca,” Poe said. 

 

    Poe sat down in the seat slowly and carefully, taking in the sight from the pilot seat once he was settled. He smiled bigger and brighter than Rey had ever seen anyone smile in her life, like a child filled with pure joy. She knew it took every ounce of his willpower to not touch anything around him despite how badly he wanted to actually pilot the ship. 

 

    “I can’t believe this ship is real,” Poe said in a half whisper to himself. 

 

    “It took me a little bit to realize that too, that I was actually on the Falcon,” Rey admitted, taking the seat behind Poe and peering over his shoulder. 

 

    “It’s one hell of a ship,” Poe said. 

 

   “She sure is,” Rey agreed. 

 

    Poe turned to smile at her yet again, and for some reason, Rey finally felt a bit of peace. She didn’t know where the Resistance would go from here, or where they could go for that matter, but Poe gave her the sense of stability, if only for a little bit. 


End file.
